What is Tyrannosauridae?
Tyrannosauridae is the family of large predators that includes Tyrannosaurus. Members lived in Late Cretaceous Asia and North America and share deep skulls, thick teeth, strong jaw muscles and small two-fingered forelimbs. Researchers often separate slender albertosaurines from heavier tyrannosaurines, and some long-snouted forms such as Alioramus and Qianzhousaurus.
Tyrannosaurids are known from many growth stages, which shows that young animals were lighter and more slender than adults. That growth record is a major reason why their size and age estimates are better supported than those of many other giant predators.
How this group is defined here
Members are the 7 field notes whose family or immediate parent group in the Paleobiology Database catalogue is Tyrannosauridae. The interpreted diet field across the group is carnivore, based on skeletal features rather than direct observation. Groups are revised when new fossils are described, and some genera are placed here with less certainty than others, so each field note records its sources and limits.
